DePaul University is hosting a variety of events this year to commemorate the centennial of the famed 1909 Burnham Plan of Chicago, the first comprehensive design for the controlled growth of an American city.

The plan by architect and urban planners Daniel Burnham Edward Bennett led to the creation of the lakefront parks and dramatic improvements to the city’s downtown area.

“The Burnham Plan and DePaul’s urban and Vincentian mission are a perfect match, as Burnham’s plan and DePaul helped make Chicago a world-class city,” said Joseph Schwieterman, director of DePaul’s Chaddick Institute for Metropolitan Development. “This effort celebrates the past and continues the conversation among scholars, students and the community about how to continue improving Chicago.”

DePaul’s Burnham centennial events are being held in collaboration with the Burnham Plan Centennial Committee housed at Chicago Metropolis 2020 and its 200-plus partner organizations, the Harry F. Chaddick Foundation, other universities and civic leaders.

In addition to a variety of events, the Polk Bros. Foundation’s Center for Urban Education at DePaul has developed a curriculum to help teach third- and eighth-graders in Chicago Public Schools about the Plan of Chicago and the city. The curriculum covers Burnham’s and Bennett’s visions and plans for the city while providing students with an opportunity to reflect on how their neighborhoods can be made better places.

And Burnham themes are being incorporated into more than 35 undergraduate and graduate courses this academic year, including Discover Chicago, an experiential learning fall program that acquaints first-year students with the city.

DePaul programs and initiatives include:

● Daniel Burnham Meets Vincent de Paul, 2 to 5 p.m., April 9, DePaul Center, 1 E. Jackson Blvd., Room 8005, Chicago. Part two of a collaborative conference with Adamson University in Manila, Philippines, focusing on Burnham’s Plan of Chicago and Plan of Manila, urban planning and poverty reduction. For more information, contact Elizabeth Wilp at ewilp@depaul.edu.

● Burnham and Bennett Brownbag Series: “Virtual Burnham Initiative: Bringing You the Chicago that Never Was,” featuring Davis Schneiderman, associate professor of English and chair of American studies at Lake Forest College, noon to 1 p.m., April 16, Chaddick Institute, 243 S. Wabash Ave., Suite 9000, Chicago. Bring your lunch; soft drinks provided. For more information or to register, contact Elizabeth Wilp at ewilp@depaul.edu.

● Burnham and Bennett Brownbag Series: “Burnham’s Recruiting Bennett for the Plan of Chicago, 1906-09: Their Backgrounds Compete, Converge and Collaborate,” featuring Arthur H. Miller, archivist and librarian for special collections, Lake Forest College, and Edward H. (Ted) Bennett III, noon to 1 p.m., May 21, Chaddick Institute 243 S. Wabash Ave., Suite 9000, Chicago. Bring your lunch; soft drinks provided. For more information or to register, contact Elizabeth Wilp at ewilp@depaul.edu.

● “Burnham, Chicago and Beyond: Politics, Planning and the Progressive Era City,” 2 to 5 p.m., May 29; 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m., May 30. Sessions will be held at The DePaul Center, 1 E. Jackson Blvd., Room 8005, and The Chicago Architecture Foundation, The John Buck Lecture Hall Gallery, 224 S. Michigan Ave. The symposium offers an opportunity to critically analyze the conditions of the urban environment that engendered the Plan of Chicago as well as its impact in Chicago and elsewhere. Hosted by Paul Jaskot, associate professor of art history and chair of the department of art and history at DePaul, and Rob Buerglener, instructional associate in the history department at DePaul, this conference addresses the important questions and conflicts raised by Burnham as well as the urban and architectural environment of the time. Cost is $55 for the general public; $45 for Chicago Architecture Foundation members; and $20 for non-DePaul students. For more information or to register, contact Lauren Fischer at lfische6@ depaul.edu or call (312) 922-3432, ext. 224.

● “Building the Business of Architecture: the Burnham Brothers and Chicago in the Golden Twenties,” July 9 through early September, DePaul University Art Museum, 2350 N. Kenmore Ave., Chicago. The exhibition features 15 architectural drawings by D.H. Burnham and Co., ranging from façade drawings to engineering plans. The exhibition also will include paintings, prints, historic and recent photos of downtown Chicago and a copy of the Burnham Plan and other archival material. For more information, please contact the museum at (773) 325-7506 or visit http://museums.depaul.edu/artwebsite/.

● Daniel Burnham and Chicago City Planning, Sept. 1 through Dec. 18, John T. Richardson Library, 2350 N. Kenmore, Chicago. An exhibit in the Department of Special Collections and Archives features DePaul’s copy of the original 1909 Plan of Chicago. Reflecting the interest of turn-of-the-20th-century civic leaders, this exhibit includes responses to the Burnham Plan, plans for other civic improvements and background on the city that needed the plans to shape its growth and future. For more information, contact Kathryn DeGraff at kdegraff@depaul.edu.

● Daniel Burnham’s 163rd Birthday Celebration. DePaul will host student activities, outdoor exhibits and a celebratory banquet open to students and the general public to commemorate the 163rd birthday of Daniel Burnham. The celebration will culminate with a Sept. 11 banquet at Maggiano’s Little Italy, 516 N. Clark St., Chicago. For more information about the events, or to purchase tickets for the banquet, which are $55 each, contact Elizabeth Wilp at ewilp@depaul.edu.

To learn more about DePaul’s Burnham centennial celebration, contact the Chaddick Institute at (312) 362-5731 or visit las.depaul.edu/chaddick. Link to the citywide Burnham Plan Centennial Web site at http://burnhamplan100.uchicago.edu/.